Chapter 2
Perhaps the air conditioning in the lounge was set too high, but the more I thought about it, the colder I felt to the bone.
Kai came to grab my hand, but I shook him off. I looked up at him, my gaze determined. “Get me back my wedding dress. I don’t want her in it.”
He frowned. “Stop making a big deal out of it, Lexi. It’s just a ceremony. We can redo it anytime we want.”
The way his lips curled and the frustration in his eyes stung me.
I refuted, “She wants my dress? Fine. But does she have to walk down the aisle with you?”
Was it her unreasonable tantrums, using her illness as an excuse to make demands, or was he already drifting away emotionally, just taking the easy way out?
Perhaps he knew I was right because his expression darkened.
He flung me away and headed toward the door, leaving behind some nasty words. “It’s so suffocating to be with you. All you ever do is embarrass me and kill the mood.”
Was I trying to embarrass him? Was I being unreasonable?
The clicking sound of the door lock pulled me back to reality.
I lifted the hem of my dress and banged on the door. “I’m not letting this happen! I’d spent too much time and effort on this day for you to call it just a ceremony…”
His impatient voice rang from the other side of the door. “Could you be any less cold-hearted? What’s so hard about letting a dying patient get her final wish?”
I had tolerated her illness for many years, and now, I was supposed to give up my own wedding and husband because she was dying. Was I the one who made her sick?
My hand rested on the door handle, and I finally cooled down. “Think this through, Kai. You’d better not regret this.”
His footsteps paused outside the door before growing steadily more distant. I slid down the length of my exaggerated skirt, feeling a hollow emptiness inside.
Addison had done it, hadn’t she? She had successfully ruined my wedding.
My phone on the table rang urgently. It was a call from my parents. Before I could answer, the call was abruptly disconnected.
The lounge was just behind the hall, separated by a single door, and I could clearly hear the commotion, the surprise, and the buzz coming from the hall.
Then, guided by the host, applause followed.
Addison had posted a video online.
The camera focused on the large screen, and all the carefully planned photoshoots Kai and I had spent so much time on were swapped with Addison’s face through AI.
The makeup I wore under the scorching sun, the aching waist and sore feet after a whole day, the hours spent perfecting each pose—all of it became a gift to her.
This hurt more than anything Kai had ever said.
Even though I was trembling with rage, my hand still clicked on the next video. In it, Addison walked toward Kai, stepping confidently under the stage lights.
Behind her, in the shadow backstage, I saw my parents. Their faces were filled with worry as they looked around for me, only to be held back by two security guards.
By then, tears were already streaming down my face, splashing onto my phone screen, right over the image of my parents’ faces.
I had chosen the wrong man. In return, I had ended up embarrassing Mom and Dad.
I didn’t bother watching the rest of the videos. Amid the celebration that was just one wall away from me, my mind gradually cleared.
I stood in front of the mirror for a long time, then quietly took off the ill-fitting wedding dress, wiped off my makeup, and changed back into my own clothes.
All that was left was relief. Thank goodness I saw the truth before I walked down the aisle with him.
